After a tough and challenging year for the fish and chip industry, we are pleased to announce the winners of our 50 Best Takeaways and 10 Best Mobile Units Awards 2021.
Following an unannounced mystery dining visit, shops and mobile units were marked on over 40 aspects of their business, from the quality of the food and customer service to their social media presence and their Covid safe practices. Once again, the food remained the main focus, with all outlets assessed on the flakiness of the fish, the crispness of the chips and the crunch of the batter, alongside value for money.
And even despite the challenges and restrictions posed by Covid, entrants didn’t let standards slip with the benchmark to pass set at 97% for takeaways and 92% for mobiles – the highest in the awards’ history.
The winners in alphabetical order are:
50 Best Fish & Chip Takeaways
- Auckley Friery, Auckley, South Yorkshire
- Callaways Fish & Chips, Dorchester, Dorset
- Carlo’s, Alnwick, Northumberland
- Castiglio’s Fried Fish & Chips, Ammanford, Carmarthenshire
- Chippy Chippy, Holyhead, Anglesey
- Chips @ No.8, Prestwich, Manchester
- Chish & Fips, Norwich, Norfolk
- Cox’s At The Lighthouse, St Neots, Cambridgeshire
- Croft Street Fisheries, Farsley, Leeds
- Davenport’s Fish & Chips, Louth, Lincolnshire
- David’s Fish And Chips, Brixham, Devon
- Dhillons Fish Inn, Throckley, Newcastle
- Dunkeld Fish Bar, Dunkeld, Perth and Kinross
- East Coast, Musselburgh, East Lothian
- Every Fish Bar, Harrow, London
- Farnhams Fish And Chips, Boverton, Llantwit Major
- Fiddlers Elbow Fish and Chips, Leintwardine, Herefordshire
- Finn’s Traditional Fish and Chips, Reading, Berkshire
- Fintans Fish & Chip Co, Llanishen, Cardiff
- Fish ‘n’ Fritz, Weymouth, Dorset
- Fisherman’s Bay, Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear
- Fochabers Fish Bar, Fochabers, Moray
- Fraser’s Fish and Chips, Penzance, Cornwall
- Frydays of Kendal, Kendal, Cumbria
- George’s Fish And Chips, Hanham, Bristol
- Harlees Fish & Chips, Westbury, Wiltshire
- Henley’s of Wivenhoe, Wivenhoe, Essex
- Hiks, Brynhyfryd, Swansea, Glamorgan
- Hooked On The Heath, Knutsford, Cheshire
- Jason’s Fish And Chips, Rackheath, Norwich, Norfolk
- Land & Sea, Sowerby, York, North Yorkshire
- Linfords Traditional Fish and Chip Shop, Market Deeping, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
- Market Hill Fisheries, Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire
- McLeod’s Fish and Chips, Inverness
- My Plaice Fish and Chips, Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk
- Newington Fish Bar, Ramsgate, Kent
- Priory Plaice Fish and Chips, Ulverston, Cumbria
- Sea Salt + Sole, Dyce, Aberdeen
- Seasmiths Fish + Chips, Porthtowan, Truro, Cornwall
- Shap Chippy, Penrith, Cumbria
- Shaw’s Fish And Chips, Dodworth, Barnsley, South Yorkshire
- Smith’s Chippy, South Shields, Tyne & Wear
- Sykes, Pendlebury, Salford, Greater Manchester
- The Cafe Royal, Annan, Dumfriesshire
- The Cottage by Haddocks, Rawtenstall, Rossendale, Lancashire
- The Crescent Fish & Chip Shop, Flint, Flintshire
- The Esk Cafe, Carlisle, Cumbria
- The Fish At Goose Green, Wigan, Lancashire
- The Fish Bar, Crewe, Cheshire
- The Fish Works, Largs, North Ayrshire
- The Friary, Carrickfergus, County Antrim
- The Golden Fry, Benllech, Isle of Anglesey
- The Horseshoe Fish Bar, Pontnewynydd, Torfaen
- The Little Chippy Tyldesley, Manchester
- The Plaice to Be, Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire
- The Shire Fryer, Shrewsbury, Shropshire
- Tony’s, Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire
- Towngate Fisheries, Idle, Bradford, West Yorkshire
- Valerio’s Fish And Chips, Lanark, South Lanarkshire
- Yan’s Fish Bar, Cardiff
10 Best Mobile Fish & Chip Units
Cod’s & Rockers, Tadley, Hampshire
- Flitch & Chips, Flitch Green and Dunmow, Essex
- Go Fish & Chips, West Berkshire
- Howe & Co Van 66, Little Horwood, Buckinghamshire
- Howe & Co Van 22, Little Horwood, Buckinghamshire
- Mobile Chip Shop, Leicester & Nottingham
- Shappy Wheels, Shap, Cumbria
- Tony’s On The Go, Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire
- Trish & Chips, Telford, Shropshire
- Tropics Two, Dersingham, Norfolk
Commenting on this year’s awards, Reece Head, competition organiser, says: “Without doubt, the last 12 months have been tough for fish and chip operators and many will not have dealt with this level of crisis management before.
“Allowed to operate during the pandemic, there was a lot they had to implement in a very short space of time to operate in a Covid safe manner. Many takeaways had to flip their businesses to click and collect and delivery, serve at the door, introduce card payments and work in much smaller teams. Likewise, mobile units introduced pre-orders and added new routes and additional vans to keep the nation fed.
“During a time of uncertainty, these operators have helped maintain a sense of normality. They’ve been at the heart of their communities, with a smile on their faces and hot food in their hands. And the fact that we’ve had our highest pass mark ever is testament to their hard work and dedication, and we would like to congratulate each and every one.”
All takeaways and mobile units that entered will receive their mystery dining report and competition packs over the next few days.
Fry Magazine would like to thank this year’s competition sponsors Goldensheaf, Frymax, Friars Pride, VA Whitley, Henry Colbecks, Middleton Foods, KFE, Brakes, Pro Fry, BD Signs, NFFF, Nortech Foods, Sarson’s and Acumen.
The Fry Awards 2022 will be open for entry in May when the 10 Best Restaurant category will return too.
